SNUG AS A BUG?
by Karl Newson ; illustrated by Alex Willmore
This bug makes the case for not answering the doorbell.
“I’m as snug as a bug in a rug, I am,” says a bug with pink spots. “There has never been a bug / in THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD / so happily snug as me!” When the doorbell rings after the bug has already retired for the night, they grumble but answer it anyway. From there, it’s one misadventure after another as a parade of different animals demand their dinner, aka the bug. Our protagonist periodically recites the “I’m as snug as a bug” verse that began the book, hilariously replacing the phrase “in the whole wide world” with their current terrifying situation: “IN A CAVE OF CERTAIN DEATH,” “IN A FOREST OF DOOM.” After narrowly escaping a flight on the back of a bird, a trip down a waterfall, and like perils, will the bug finally be digested in the stomach of a croc? Not likely. “I may be small… / but I’m mighty!” And when the doorbell rings again after this adventure? Well, the bug doesn’t have a choice—it’s mom come calling. The hapless bug will entertain readers as they ping-pong from one danger to the next with their fuzzy yellow slippers, bug eyes, antennae, and four arms (always in motion) expressing their every emotion while the predators leer hungrily. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
In this giggle-inducing tale, the Indiana Jones of bugs escapes to sleep another night, snug as a bug.
(Picture book. 3-7)